The Colorado State University-Pueblo women’s track and field program has added 16 new recruits to its 2009-10 roster, coach Chad Perry announced Monday.
The class is headlined by some of the top small school standouts in the state of Colorado in 2009.
Topping the list is Hayden High School graduate Holli Salazar (Hayden HS, Hayden, Colo.), the 2008 Colorado 2A state champion in the shot put. Specializing in throws, Salazar’s toss of 41-feet, 7-3/4 inches in the shot put won her the state title as a junior. As a senior, she finished third in both the shot put and discus throw in the state meet. With the ThunderWolves, Salazar will anchor the Pack’s throws and have a chance to break school records in both events – her personal best in the shot put is just a foot away from the Pack’s school record.
Joining Salazar is another 2A standout is Haven Cappellucci (Hoehne HS, Hoehne, Colo.), who will specialize in sprints and hurdles with the ThunderWolves. Cappellucci turned in a trio of second place finishes at the 2009 Colorado 2A state track meet in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles. A four-year letterman, she was an 11-time state finalist at Hoehne, and was a regional champion five times in the 100, 200, and 400.
The ThunderWolves also added a number of athletes to the squad, focusing primarily on distance and jumping events.
Doherty High School graduate Summer Winters (Doherty HS, Colorado Springs, Colo.) comes to the ThunderWolves after finishing fourth in the 2009 Colorado 5A State Championships in the high jump with a leap of 5-feet, 4 inches. Joining Winters is another 5A high jumper, Ashley King (Douglas County HS, Castle Rock, Colo.), who finished eighth in the event with a leap of 5-feet even.
Sisters Shannon Elliott (El Dorado HS, El Paso, Tex./Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Sherrea Elliott (Fountain-Ft. Carson HS, Colorado Springs, Colo.), join the Pack to provide depth in jumping and sprinting events. Sherrea placed 15th in the 5A state championships in 2009 with a leap in the triple jump of 33-feet, 9-1/2 inches, while Shannon, a standout at El Dorado High School in El Paso, Tex., brings personal records of 37-feet, 3-1/2 inches in the triple jump and a 12.8 second performance in the 100-meter dash to CSU-Pueblo.
The Pack will also add a stable of distance runners to help bolster both the CSU-Pueblo cross country team as well as the track team’s distance events.
Leading that group are a pair of out-of-state signees, Alycia Crandall (Mountain Home HS, Mountain Home, Idaho), and Tia D’Aguiar (Northwood HS, Irvine, Calif.). Crandall, who boasts a personal record of 19:58 in the 5K and a mile run of 5:45, finished in the top 20 in the Idaho State cross country championships. D’Aguiar, who also posts times around the 20 minute range in the 5K, went to the Junior Olympic nationals as a cross country runner from 2001-04.
Rounding out the Pack’s distance running additions are Megan Bolton (Berthoud HS, Berthoud, Colo.), Britnea DeHerrera (Centennial HS, Pueblo, Colo.), Hayley Lewis (Air Academy HS, Colorado Springs, Colo.), and Amber Williams (Piedra Vista HS, Farmington, N.M.).
The ThunderWolves also added sprinters Marki Cook (Meeker HS, Meeker, Colo.), Marissa Garcia (Dakota Ridge HS, Littleton, Colo.), Angle Smith (Sand Creek HS, Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Ashley Harper (Mitchell HS, Colorado Springs, Colo.).
“I am pleased with the caliber of athlete in this signing class,” Perry said. “We were able to shore up our throwing and jumping events in a big way, as well as add some immediate talent and depth to our distance events. Combined with the foundation we already have in place, this group could help catapult our team up the RMAC standings next season.”
